Archive for month: September, 2016

Millennials are the generation to talk about in 2016. Surely, you have seen articles that defend millennials and articles that rip them apart. In either case, many of these articles are asserting major assumptions. When discussing a group of people who currently range from nonworking 14 year old kids to mid-career 30-somethings, generalizations are far from accurate in the first place. That said, the millennial generation is a job seeker group we serve often at TRN, so we felt it necessary to weigh in on the conversation and express what we have seen in the under-40 workforce by dispelling some myths.

Myth: “Millennials are just a bunch of job hoppers. Good luck getting a commitment out of them!”

How we see it: It’s not millennials, it’s the shifting paradigm in the nature of work. More than ever, in 2016, people are working freelance, starting companies, and experiencing a flex job economy. This isn’t generational, it’s our digital-first era. Millennials who do have multiple jobs within a five year span may attribute that to a lack of permanence in the roles they’ve been assigned, including contingent & subcontract roles. Companies are less fixated on building decades-long relationships with employees just as job seekers are more willing to seek their next fulfillment. Additionally, those 10 jobs in five years might be coming from millennials innate ability to side-hustle, something people did less of 20 years ago.

Myth: “Millennials are so tech dependent, they can’t even have a face-to-face conversation!”

How we see it: Millennials are just as adept as their Gen-X and baby boomer counterparts at leading discussions and meetings, giving in-person presentations, and chatting comfortably with colleagues and customers. In fact, many people erroneously blame millennial employees for their so-called dependency on the technologies that came about long before their births, such as cell phones and computers.

Myth: “Millennials just like to scrape by and do bare minimum work!”

How we see it: Millennials are intrinsic high achievers. Demands in schools from kindergarten through graduation have exponentially increased decade over decade for the past 30 to 40 years. A society that once accepted non-graduates as the majority for men and the norm for women has, in less than a half-century, ‘evolved’ into a society that pays hundreds of thousand dollars for elite preschools. Millennials are the most recent products of this bittersweet symphony, and are no strangers to a demand for excellence and the blood, sweat, and tears that excellence will require.

How we see it: Many of today’s young adults were affected gravely by our economic downturn in 2008, either as young ones learning hard lessons about living with less or new graduates who had to fight for entry-level jobs among moms and dads with decades of experience. Any trace of hand-holding most young adults may have experienced – and not all did – have been relearned. Further, millennials are unique in that the technological landscape shifted so monumentally during their formative years that they had to learn modern skills that their parents could not teach them. Millennials can and do work very independently in the workplace and are very resourceful without micromanagement.

“Millennials have NO professional boundaries. They’re sure to embarrass themselves or our company with a social media faux pas!”

How we see it: This is a sign of the times for many people, of all ages, who are, for the first time, navigating a world where the curtains are drawn open to reveal it all. Privacy is essential and millennials aren’t the only generation who has had to grapple with over-sharing. In fact, because millennials grew up with online chat rooms, instant messaging, email, cell phones, digital cameras, and social media in a way that previous generations did not, they are only more savvy about securing their online privacy and understanding the ramifications if they fail to stay smart online.

Making general and presumptive statements about generations is getting old. Here at The Reserves Network, we see all of our potential job seekers as 100 percent unique and find that thriving workplaces often employ a healthy variety. Ageism is real and while seniors grapple with job phase-out, young people are fighting against blame for things that the 21st century has done to all of us. If you’re a job seeker looking for work, we invite you to work with us and avoid the bias associated with your age or any other facet of yourself. If you’re looking to hire, be cognizant of the misnomers about millennials and other age groups or remove the bias altogether by trusting your staffing needs to TRN. Contact us today!

THE RESERVES NETWORK WINS 14TH NORTHCOAST 99 AWARD

Fairview Park, OH — The Reserves Network, a leading staffing provider for the office, industrial, professional and technical markets, has won its 14th NorthCoast 99 award, recognizing the organization as one of the best workplaces in Northeast Ohio.

NorthCoast 99 is an annual recognition program that honors 99 great workplaces for top talent in Northeast Ohio. The program was developed and is presented by the Employers ResourceCouncil (ERC). ERC is Northeast Ohio’s leading and largest professional organization dedicated to HR practices, programs and services. The program rates companies according to their policies and practices on seven core organizational characteristics: flexibility, opportunity, recognition, development, security, support and talent integrity.

The comprehensive NorthCoast 99 application can take up to 40 hours to complete, and also requires top performers from each company to participate in an online survey about their workplaces. To be eligible, an organization must be at least three years old and employ at least 15 full-time equivalent employees in Northeast Ohio.

“To have won another NorthCoast 99 award is a great honor, and reaffirms our commitment to business in Northeast Ohio,” says Neil Stallard, CEO of The Reserves Network. “Over the years, we have been very fortunate to be a part of this great event, and be amongst the organizations that are the superstar employers of our region.”

The Reserves Network has previously joined the NorthCoast 99’s prestigious Legacy award winner society for ten-time honorees. The Reserves Network is joined by 32 other organizations who have achieved Legacy award winner status as of this year, and remains the only staffing company to have been recognized for this honor.

Having a modern recruitment strategy vs. a traditional recruiting process is often the difference between hiring decent reliable employees and hiring rockstars who are going to propel your company further. There is a new wave of talented professionals who have a different standard for what they look for in an employer. If you want to reach this new set of top recruits, then it’s time to update your old recruiting tactics.

Give your company a modern make-over

Even as a light industrial warehouse, it’s important for new hires to feel as though they are coming into a modern company culture. An out-of-date, non-mobile-optimized website sends out a huge red flag to candidates that says your company is antiquated and struggling.

Likewise, if you aren’t taking advantage of the FREE benefits of social media, then candidates will again question your relevance and longevity.

Pro Tip:Consider the benefits of social media for internal communication. Set up a private Facebook page to give your team instant updates on company news, schedules, and answer employee questions.

Offer unique benefits

Don’t blend in with every other manufacturing plant in your area. Stand out to top recruits by offering benefits that make your employees happier and better people.

“The demands of manufacturing positions, and the flexibility of benefits you can provide are much different from white collar positions,” says Julie Domokos, vice president of strategic partnerships at The Reserves Network. “We work with numerous companies in this segment, and it’s no coincidence the ones with the lowest turnover really go the extra mile to truly make their employees feel welcome. Whether it’s switching-up shift times during the summer months to free up another day off, or making company picnics a regular occurrence, it means a lot to employees in these laborious jobs to know they’re appreciated.”

When you offer candidates an employee friendly company culture, benefits become a recruitment tactic and not just a retention strategy.

Speed up your application process

From providing applicants a fast and easy application portal, to giving them a quick turnaround, you ensure that you won’t miss out on top candidates. Candidates, especially those that need a job now, don’t have time to fill out lengthy applications. This is why we advise our clients to limit their application process to resumes, cover letters and a few questions. Rely on your HR professionals and interviews to give you the full picture of a candidate’s abilities.

Get active with passive candidates

The best Cleveland logistics professionals and Atlanta distribution professionals are not actively seeking employment. To reach light industrial workers who are employed full-time, you have to actively recruit them online. Reach out on LinkedIn or even Twitter and pitch your company. If you take these extra steps to boost your recruitment strategy, these passive candidates will have a good reason to consider other options.

Recruiting in the modern business world requires a lot of effort. The Reserves Network specializes in recruiting light industrial professionals and construction workers across the nation. Work with TRN to freshen up your recruitment strategy today.

https://trnstaffing.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/logo.png00adminhttps://trnstaffing.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/logo.pngadmin2016-09-21 10:15:352016-09-14 15:21:44Freshen Up Your Recruitment Strategy in Four Steps

As companies shift to on demand work, construction workers and other light industrial laborers have the opportunity to really capitalize on this new gig economy. Flexibility and control are two words that are rarely, if ever, associated with physical labor jobs. However, workers can now have both in their career, if they take advantage of these benefits of the gig economy.

Achieve Work-Life Balance

By only accepting the projects that fit within a reasonable schedule, you can take control of the balance between your career and your personal life. You are also given the flexibility to take on extra work to save up for a mini-vacation or break from work, in case of an emergency. Take advantage of the lack of commitment that comes with gig work to fit your lifestyle.

Set Your Pace

The gig economy rewards quick and effective workers that would otherwise be making the same hourly rate as their co-workers in a full-time position with a company. If you can effectively complete projects early, or take on multiple projects at once, you can make much more per hour than you would in a traditional work environment.

Rapidly Build a Portfolio

While the consistency of a full-time assembly job in Chicago is great, the job satisfaction leaves much to be desired. Projects allow workers to choose the types of jobs they want, not what they can get. The low risk of a small gig to employers eliminates the majority of the red tape involved in a traditional application process, so gigs are easier to come by. This allows gig workers to quickly build experience in a number of professional areas very fast. It then becomes even easier to get project, part-time or full-time work in the future, with a large portfolio and a laundry list of great references.

Another great way to maximize on the new gig economy is to work with a light industrial staffing firm like The Reserves Network. Employers from the Midwest to the Southeast look to TRN to fill their machine operator jobs, construction openings, welder positions and other light industrial jobs. Contact TRN to shape your career into exactly what you want it to be.

The Department of Labor has made amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act that will take effect December 1st of this year. The amendment increases the minimum threshold salary to receive overtime pay of full-time salaried employees from $23,660 to $47,476. This was a necessary shift to adjust for inflation as only seven percent of full-time salaried employees fall under the current threshold. Compared to the 1970s at 60 percent, the projected 35 percent should not have an irreversible effect on businesses. However, for those who feel unprepared to handle the new overtime laws, we have generated a comprehensive check list for adjusting your current business model to comply with the new laws.

1. Identify the salaried employees under the new threshold.

Take note of whom this could potentially affect within your organization. Any personnel that previously made more than $23,660 but less than $47,476 as a salaried employee will be affected by the new amendment.

2. Analyze workloads.

Cross-reference your newly generated list with your expected workload to evaluate the true impact of these law changes on your business. If all of your employees work a standard 40-hour work week, then the new amendment shouldn’t impact your bottom line. However, if you find that some of your employees are working upwards of 60 hours in a single week, then you have much more to consider.

3. Compare the difference between time-and-a-half and an increase in salary.

If your best employees are putting in overtime week after week, you will have to crunch the numbers to see whether or not increasing their salaries above the new threshold will save your company more money than their projected overtime pay. If an employee is just below the new threshold, than it’s a no brainer to give them a nice unexpected raise while keeping you DOL compliant. Employee retention should see an increase and businesses will also benefit from the increased purchasing power of the American worker.

4. Consider ways to increase efficiency.

Think of ways to prepare for your busier seasons during slow times to decrease overtime hours. Are all of your processes maximizing your warehouse’s efficiency? Use this time before December to evaluate and improve your plant’s productivity to prevent major shifts in your payroll.

5. Fill in the gaps.

You’ve crunched all the numbers and it turns out that you can’t afford to increase your current employees’ salaries or pay them overtime. Don’t panic. You can fill in the productivity gaps with temporary or part-time employees at a lower rate than your more-experienced assembly workers or distribution professionals.

6. Inform your team.

Before you make any changes in personnel or hours, be sure to tell your team first. Some companies will need to make some major shifts and their teams should be the first to know, to help make the changes as seamless as possible.

7. Track the numbers and adjust.

Hindsight is 20/20. Don’t expect to predict every hurdle that this new amendment will bring. This law is set to update every three years to better keep up with inflation, so continue to keep a close eye on your finances and make the necessary tweaks to your processes and personnel along the way.

8. Partner with a personnel consultant.

Working with an expert in personnel management can help keep your business successful and compliant. The Reserves Network has a talented pool of Orlando machine operators, Milwaukee logistics professionals, welders in Dayton and light industrial workers throughout the U.S. We specialize in staffing and management for the light industrial industry.